I missed the instalment from last week, out of a combination of sheer laziness, and a dire need for sleep (due to having what in most cases amounts to a mild cold, but for some reason ended up being a proper Man-Flu). So, this week, in the wake of the MFIC’s Valdai speech, we have a double-header again.
For this week, we have a Finn and a Russian – and that is rather appropriate, given the two countries share a long border. Finland used to be part of the Russian Empire, a fact that neither the Finns nor the Russians have ever forgotten. Finns love to point out that they won “the” Winter War against the Soviets, and that is true – up to a point. In reality, they won the First Winter War, but badly lost the Second, when the Soviet Red Army figured out their problems, reorganised and retrained, and came up with the tactical and operational adjustments that allowed them to defeat Mannherheim.
Finns these days appear to think of themselves as a bulwark against the Orcs of Mordor in the east, but they forget their relatively recent history, in which the Finns agreed to neutrality between the Western and Soviet blocs. This resulted in substantial prosperity for the Finnish nation after WWII, because they were able to trade with both sides and serve as a neutral middle ground. Today, having chosen the Western bloc rather emphatically, it is fair to say that Finland is reaping the rewards for that very foolish choice – their economy is in the doldrums, thanks to their rejection of Russian energy and wood imports, and they have turned themselves into a bright red target for Russian nukes.
Well, people have to live by their choices, I suppose.
Anyway, let’s get on to the lovely ladies of the week.
First up, Jonna Kui, age mid-twenties, from Finland but living in Colombia with her actor boyfriend:
And second, Yuliya Korf, which is almost certainly not her actual name, age 33 from Mordor.
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